On the day, we saw over40 turkeys, with a handful of big toms and many more jakes than in recent years. Some of them were on public land. We saw tracks and turkey sign on public land, too.

But we also saw a red-tailed hawk and two golden eagles. In one area, the eagle and the hawk were tormenting turkeys. We could hear a boss hen yelping to her flock. At one point, we heard an alarm putt when the hawk swopped down to make a pass at her or another bird there.

Actually, we saw three golden eagles, but one of them was dead, piled up on the side of a low-traffic road in the high desert. The immature eagle had its right wing completely bent back around on impact with a vehicle. It hadn’t been dead long. There were no ants or bugs on the young raptor. Knowing it’s illegal to possess any part of a golden eagle, I tossed the bird farther back into the brush so that no one could see it. I couldn’t help but think that all these groups are worried about lead shot killing raptors, and one giant piece of lead with wheels probably killed this young eagle.